Rail link between London and Edinburgh extended to Glasgow

A daily train service to and from London has been extended to the west coast of Scotland.

Lumo's route to London King's Cross will now start and end at Glasgow Queen Street, via Falkirk High and Edinburgh on the East Coast Main Line.

The low-cost operator – part of FirstGroup – previously ran services between the Scottish and English capitals.

Customers will be able to travel on two northbound services each weekday and one southbound, with one in each direction at the weekend.

The company is also scheduled to launch a new daily service between Stirling and London next year.

Stuart Jones, managing director of First Rail Open Access, described the launch as a "landmark moment".

He added: "This offers a sustainable travel option whilst also boosting economic growth.

"We're proud to champion Scotland and look forward to providing the unique Lumo service to even more customers from this week."

The service leaves Queen Street and includes stops at Falkirk High, Edinburgh Haymarket, Edinburgh Waverley, Morpeth, Newcastle and Stevenage before reaching London King's Cross.

Scotland nationalised its rail services in April 2022, while nearly all in England are to be taken into public ownership by 2027.

However, Lumo runs on an "open access basis," meaning it sets its own fares and receives no taxpayer-funded subsidies.

Paul Tetlaw from sustainable transport group Transform Scotland, said he hoped the new services would convince some travellers to choose rail over flying to London.

He added: "There is a significant market of people who currently drive or fly to the north east of England and London who now have the opportunity to switch to the train.

"The new services soon to be launched from Stirling will help to build on that modal shift to rail."

He said he hoped the new connection would help ferry people to Glasgow for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.